Late Princess Grace's Fashion and Style


If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
What I loved about Princess Grace and many women of their "era" was they weren't afraid to just do what they wanted with their hair and jewels and clothes.Now, it seems there is not as much personal expression in style. Especially here in the US, everyone wants to look like a jean clad soccer mom. I love Princess Grace style, even when she was dressed down, there was an elegance to it!!
 
She was naturally elegant, no doubt.
She was very elegant, yet simple at oscars, for example. I liked that dress so much on her :flowers:
 
Rubies, I agree the Princesses and Queens of yester year did seem to CREATE something about the way they looked for the public, down to the last detail. Most of today's royality rely of major fashions houses to create for them.

Back it time, it seems as if the creative process started with the PERSON first instead of the FASHION first, as it is today, just my observation though....
 
I just found this thread and is is truly amazing!
I just saw photographs here that I had never seen before, so thank you all for posting them here!!!:flowers:

queenofthelight just when I thought I had seen every picture of Princess Grace her amazing wardrobe (taken for the exhibition, Les Annees Grace Kelly, Princess de Monaco) you surpised me!!:):):)

Some of those photographs are not even in the book...thank you so much!!! There is one thing that I don't like and this is models wearing Princess Grace her clothes, it just doesn't feel right to me:sad:, but that is just me....

And how great is it that this wonderfull woman is honored 27 years after her death, her legacy lives on!
 
Grace Kelly Style Icon

Source: viewlondon.co.uk

I hope you'll be happy to hear this information:
Grace Kelly Style Icon exhibition is open until September 2010 at Victoria and Albert Museum, highlighting the beautiful clothes and effortless elegance of one of the most popular actresses of the 1950s.
Showcasing a spectacular selection of clothes from the star's wardrobe, this fashion exhibition is certain to be the highlight of the year for many fashionistas in London. Presenting over 50 of Grace Kelly's outfits, along with some of her accessories, visitors to the Victoria and Albert Museum are able to revel in the style and glamour of an era gone by, represented by one of the most fashionable icons of her time.
17 April 2010 -26 September 2010, 10am - 5.45pm, Victoria and Albert Museum.
 
There is just something I can't put my finger on about Princess Grace - she was so classy, so graceful, so elegant, and even when she would wear her most fancy jewels and furs, she seemed to me to be a bit understated. I am not sure how to convey what I am trying to say, but even at her most glamourous, she didn't give off an ostentatious or over-the-top, in-your-face bling-bling attitude (like so many famous celebrities/actresses of today do). To me she was just simply elegant, naturally beautiful and refined.
 
There is just something I can't put my finger on about Princess Grace - she was so classy, so graceful, so elegant, and even when she would wear her most fancy jewels and furs, she seemed to me to be a bit understated. I am not sure how to convey what I am trying to say, but even at her most glamourous, she didn't give off an ostentatious or over-the-top, in-your-face bling-bling attitude (like so many famous celebrities/actresses of today do). To me she was just simply elegant, naturally beautiful and refined.
I understand exactly what you mean - I think one reason she came across in the way you describe is the way she presented herself both in her body language & her general conduct - she was never "look at me" or struck an aggressive /provocative stance. She appeared comfortable to allow others around her to take the limelight. I think this is really noticeable on the occasions she was photographed with other famous actresses/stars. Although she was always very conscious of how she photographed , she didnt appear to need to assert her beauty.
 
Museum in Monaco

Although it sounds blatantly commercial I have always wondered two things why they have not played all of Grace's films in Monaco at a festival and Why they have not built a museum housing all her clothing- letters- memorabilia-etc,for which there is such an avid audience evidently.I think with the response and respect Grace garners it would be appropriate without compromising the "royal" aspects of it.Al;so the historians of aesthetics could scrutinize and write again - what is of now of historic significance- How a Princess was attired so perfectly that she captured our hearts and imagination.
 
Although it sounds blatantly commercial I have always wondered two things why they have not played all of Grace's films in Monaco at a festival and Why they have not built a museum housing all her clothing- letters- memorabilia-etc,for which there is such an avid audience evidently.I think with the response and respect Grace garners it would be appropriate without compromising the "royal" aspects of it.Al;so the historians of aesthetics could scrutinize and write again - what is of now of historic significance- How a Princess was attired so perfectly that she captured our hearts and imagination.
I agree.I would like The Grace kelly exhibition,as it was displayed in 2007 in Monaco ,with all dresses,jewels etc,a permanent exhibition in Monaco:flowers:
http://i46.tinypic.com/vrdlcw.jpg:monacoflag:
http://i46.tinypic.com/352j43c.jpg
http://i47.tinypic.com/f9qltu.jpg
http://i50.tinypic.com/200vg2b.jpg:rose:
http://i47.tinypic.com/qmylxw.jpg
 
There is a new national museum opening in Monaco sometime this year. The website is still under construction, but according to the press releases as well as hosting some contemporary art, it will contain exhibits relating to the cultural history of Monaco. We can only hope that there might be a room set aside for the Grimaldi legacy which might include some exhibits belonging to Grace. The success of The Grace Kelly Years exhibition must have given pause for thought in Monaco which is increasingly opening its doors to more commercial/popular tourism & as a year round conference & holiday destination. I would imagine it would keep American visitor numbers to the Principality healthy.
 
The first gown is a Ben Zuckerman creation if I am not mistaken.

She dressed also in Balenciaga.
http://i42.tinypic.com/v42dr7.jpg
Balenciaga was a bit overpowering imo for the delicacy of her beauty.jmo and I also find Grace not as becoming in curly hair as opposed to straight as a leek look. However she remains a "classic" that is still relevant today fashion wise. I also think impeccable grooming had a big part in her successful appearances.
 
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Grace's influence on the world of fashion continues to shine:
Guardian article.
I'm sure the forthcoming exhibition will be a real hit. :)
 
I wish Princess Grace's princess fashion would get more attention since she dressed distinctively different from than she did during her Hollywood years. I mean, it was still Grace (ladylike, preppy, laidback) but it was MUCH more refined and very ornate.

Even the V&A exhibition book Grace Kelly Style devoted 2/3 of the book to her Hollywood fashion and barely covered her princess fashion. She was Princess longer than she was an actress! (And if you get the book, beware: while it's a nice overview of her fashion, it's a sorry excuse for an exhibition catalogue.)

My favorite of her princess fashion were those dresses she wore those masque balls with those over-the-top hairdos.
 
What I loved about Princess Grace and many women of their "era" was they weren't afraid to just do what they wanted with their hair and jewels and clothes.Now, it seems there is not as much personal expression in style. Especially here in the US, everyone wants to look like a jean clad soccer mom. I love Princess Grace style, even when she was dressed down, there was an elegance to it!!

Fashion and style underwent a revolution through. Just as the Flapper period of the 1920s completely rewrote women's wear (out went the corsets, high necklines, floor length gowns and trains of the Victorian/Edwardian eras in favor of the forerunner of the shorttail dress, lower necklines, and less heavy lingerie) so did the 1970s rewrite women's wear yet again (from formal structured clothes of the 1940s-1960s to casual, laidback clothes).

Nor do I think everyone wants to dress like a "jean clad soccer Mom." You can still find elegance nowdays, you just have to know where to find it and how to achieve it in your own personal life. (There's a reason why the super-preppy and high fashion shows Gossip Girl and Sex and the City have become style inspirations for many women.)

I will even go so as to say Grace herself helped with revolution. It was not uncommon for rich women of her era (1940s-1960s specifically) to lug around dozens of suitcases of clothing. She pared it down to the essentials and was famous for only carrying 1 or 2 suitcases pre-Monaco. (I'm sure after she became a Princess her clothing and jewelry requirements meant she needed tons of suitcases for her state visits.)

I do dispute your statement that women of her era could do what they wanted with their hair, clothing and jewels. Katharine Hepburn has written about how Hollywood wouldn't take her seriously and tried to girl her up because she wore trousers all the time even AFTER she won an Oscar. Jacqueline Kennedy couldn't wear slacks in public when she was First Lady because that wasn't considered proper for any woman of that era and she even ridiculed for dressing too casually for an Easter Church service (she wore a nice day dress but it wasn't deemed formal enough for a First Lady to wear). Even Grace had to fight Hitchcook about breast enhancements (he wanted her to wear falsies in a scene 'Rear Window'.) Not to mention, Grace had to fight the Hollywood system to dress the way she wanted. (Recall that when Grace came to Hollywood, the Dream Factory still controlled how the stars dressed in their casual lives.) If anything, women have more control today over how they can dress vs. Grace's era.
 
A feature on Grace's beach outfit for the film To Catch A Thief

To Catch A Thief

(There are other features about some of her other film outfits which can be searched from the archive)
 
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Grace came at the right time and her attire was suited to her as in true couture.There isn't a time she did not draw sighs.... but then she studied herself and she was objective in what to wear. Grace 's clothes still have universal appeal and still inspire [as in the inspiration for Kate Middleton's wedding gown]because they are so classic.Grace was unafraid to be a classic and to show more conservatism than others.
 
Grace came at the right time and her attire was suited to her as in true couture.There isn't a time she did not draw sighs.... but then she studied herself and she was objective in what to wear. Grace 's clothes still have universal appeal and still inspire [as in the inspiration for Kate Middleton's wedding gown]because they are so classic.Grace was unafraid to be a classic and to show more conservatism than others.


Yes,very true!

If only Hollywood stars today dressed like that.
 
Yes,very true!

If only Hollywood stars today dressed like that.
You would think it is that easy and common
sense but since there hasn't been anyone comparable
there must have been something more to it.I would think that Grace had more brains [ accentuated sense of aesthetic] than she is credited for.Grace was not an style icon for a certain time but for all time.
 
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